Barcelona Casa Àmatller

Casa Àmatller: Built for chocolate baron Antoni Àmatller, this playful building is one of Puig i Cadafalch's finest creations. Inspired by 17th-century Dutch townhouses, it has a distinctive stepped Flemish pediment covered in shiny ceramics, while the lower façade and doorway are decorated with lively sculptures by Eusebi Arnau. These include chocolatiers at work, almond trees and blossoms (in reference to the family name) and Sant Jordi slaying the dragon.

Besides chocolate, Àmatller's other great love was photography. His daughter later converted the family home into an art institute and archive for her father's vast archives, from which excellent selections are on display in the ground floor exhibition space. The guided tour of the house lasts around an hour and includes the ornate entrance hall, Antoni Àmatller's period photography studio and a tasting of Àmatller chocolate in the original kitchen. The façade of the Casa Àmatller building is currently undergoing restoration and it will be sheathed in particularly unphotogenic green netting for nearly all of 2009.

Address

Passeig de Gràcia 41
Area Eixample
Transport Metro Passeig de Gràcia.
Telephone 93 487 72 17
Open 10am-8.30pm daily.
Admission free; guided tour €5; reductions €2.50.